“It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. If you see what I mean.”- Neil Gaiman
Bibliographic Data: Gaiman, Neil. 2009. The Graveyard Book. Narrated by Neil Gaiman.0060530944 (Found on Youtube)
Plot Summary:
A small child wobbles away from his home and into a cemetery at the end of the street after a man kills his entire family. After discovering the murderer is still out to get the small lad, the ghosts in the cemetery decide to do what any person (living or dead) with a heart would do: protect and raise the child like their own. Bod (Nobody Owens) ends up living a pretty normal life, except his parents (biological and adoptive) are dead, his protector/teacher is neither ghost nor man, he learns to read using the engravings on tombstones, and his best friend’s parents think he is imaginary. This book is the perfect fantasy novel, and it is not surprising it won a Newberry Medal.
Bod is perfectly relatable even though he is a tiny child being raised by ghosts. He is clever, curious, and loyal. His desire to please his Silas, his protector/teacher, and his parents makes him all the more endearing. The child-like manner in which he speaks of his initial hatred of Miss. Lupescu (try spelling this correctly on your first try after having only heard the Audiobook, I dare you) “she was not even slightly pretty” and the distaste in which he speaks of the food she brings him is hilarious and age appropriate. The fact that he gets himself into trouble mainly when he is trying to help others, or do something kind for them (i.e.: getting trapped in a crooked, old, pawn-shop trader’s basement while trying to raise money for a murdered witches’ tombstone) makes him even more likeable. Bod is believable, and the reader roots for him.
Gaiman also masterfully introduces other supporting characters, the sweet Owens family, his brave friend Scarlett (who gave me a Coraline vibe), Liza Hempstock (one of many Hempstocks that appear in Gaiman’s novels) and Silas. Although many of these characters are dead, ghosts, witches, and the like, they are all believable, and all speak in a manner that is appropriate and corresponds in the era in which they lived. They are absolutely believable, even though they are completely rooted in a fantasy.
The storyline and plot are believable, and Gaiman covers a miraculous span of time, without making the stories ever seem hurried. We meet Bod as an 18-month-old, are there when he learns to read, experience his first trip out of the graveyard, are there when he wears clothes for the first time, and get to witness the first person (well, dead witch) to fall in love with him. His journeys are believable, the story arc wonderfully corresponds with his aging, and it is easy to feel lost in the story.
When one envisions a graveyard they conjure images of fog, cobwebs, darkness, spookiness, and a feeling of coolness in the air, yet Gaiman did the unimaginable: made this setting seem cozy and entirely normal. The reader actually feels stressed when Bod ventures OUT of the warmth and protection of the graveyard, which is quite a feat.
The themes are obvious, but presented in a different and imaginative manner. Instead of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, it is ‘it takes a graveyard to raise a child’. We are also taught that a family is not necessarily the one that made you, but the one that raised you… even if they are dead. Most apparent is the theme of good vs. evil, which is prevalent in many Gaiman novels.
Gaiman’s voice is clear and consistent. Stylistically you know you are in a cemetery. You know you are surrounded by strange beings from the past, and very distant past. There are ghosts that were present during the Trojan War, the United States’ thirty-third president is a ghoul, as is ‘The Famous Writer Victor Hugo’. You know you are in a strange, dark, other world, but it feels as if it is normal (and that is the genius of Gaiman).
The only thing better than reading this novel yourself, is having Neil Gaiman read it to you. He embodies all of the characters, uses the perfect voice(s), cadence, accents and more. It might be because he wrote the novel and knows its characters better than any person possible, but really, I think Gaiman reading anything, even a phonebook, would be enjoyable. If you had to choose just one book to listen to, let it be this one. Listening to Gaiman scream help in Night-Gaunt, a tortured beast language, is worth it alone.
Awards:
Audiobook of the Year
Reviews:
AUDIO FILE MAGAZINE: “Neil Gaiman is one of the true gems in the audio industry… gives each specter a different—and wholly appropriate—voice, but he doesn't stop there. He even goes so far as to change a character's accent ever so slightly after she comes back from years and years abroad… performs a shift of character voice that is an absolute showstopper when he reveals the villain”
THE NEW YORK TIMES: “The Graveyard Book”, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form.”
THE INDEPENDENT: “Neil Gaiman's slightly spooky voice is perfect for reading his slightly spooky story"
KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. Gaiman’s riff on Kipling’s Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family’s murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending…Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod’s innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.”
Note: You miss out on the terrific illustrations if you listen to the audiobook, so if you find yourself near a book store, look through a physical copy. Dave McKean did a fantastic job.
Connections:
The rights to The Graveyard Book were purchased, and it should be a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard.
Plot Summary:
A small child wobbles away from his home and into a cemetery at the end of the street after a man kills his entire family. After discovering the murderer is still out to get the small lad, the ghosts in the cemetery decide to do what any person (living or dead) with a heart would do: protect and raise the child like their own. Bod (Nobody Owens) ends up living a pretty normal life, except his parents (biological and adoptive) are dead, his protector/teacher is neither ghost nor man, he learns to read using the engravings on tombstones, and his best friend’s parents think he is imaginary. This book is the perfect fantasy novel, and it is not surprising it won a Newberry Medal.
Bod is perfectly relatable even though he is a tiny child being raised by ghosts. He is clever, curious, and loyal. His desire to please his Silas, his protector/teacher, and his parents makes him all the more endearing. The child-like manner in which he speaks of his initial hatred of Miss. Lupescu (try spelling this correctly on your first try after having only heard the Audiobook, I dare you) “she was not even slightly pretty” and the distaste in which he speaks of the food she brings him is hilarious and age appropriate. The fact that he gets himself into trouble mainly when he is trying to help others, or do something kind for them (i.e.: getting trapped in a crooked, old, pawn-shop trader’s basement while trying to raise money for a murdered witches’ tombstone) makes him even more likeable. Bod is believable, and the reader roots for him.
Gaiman also masterfully introduces other supporting characters, the sweet Owens family, his brave friend Scarlett (who gave me a Coraline vibe), Liza Hempstock (one of many Hempstocks that appear in Gaiman’s novels) and Silas. Although many of these characters are dead, ghosts, witches, and the like, they are all believable, and all speak in a manner that is appropriate and corresponds in the era in which they lived. They are absolutely believable, even though they are completely rooted in a fantasy.
The storyline and plot are believable, and Gaiman covers a miraculous span of time, without making the stories ever seem hurried. We meet Bod as an 18-month-old, are there when he learns to read, experience his first trip out of the graveyard, are there when he wears clothes for the first time, and get to witness the first person (well, dead witch) to fall in love with him. His journeys are believable, the story arc wonderfully corresponds with his aging, and it is easy to feel lost in the story.
When one envisions a graveyard they conjure images of fog, cobwebs, darkness, spookiness, and a feeling of coolness in the air, yet Gaiman did the unimaginable: made this setting seem cozy and entirely normal. The reader actually feels stressed when Bod ventures OUT of the warmth and protection of the graveyard, which is quite a feat.
The themes are obvious, but presented in a different and imaginative manner. Instead of ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, it is ‘it takes a graveyard to raise a child’. We are also taught that a family is not necessarily the one that made you, but the one that raised you… even if they are dead. Most apparent is the theme of good vs. evil, which is prevalent in many Gaiman novels.
Gaiman’s voice is clear and consistent. Stylistically you know you are in a cemetery. You know you are surrounded by strange beings from the past, and very distant past. There are ghosts that were present during the Trojan War, the United States’ thirty-third president is a ghoul, as is ‘The Famous Writer Victor Hugo’. You know you are in a strange, dark, other world, but it feels as if it is normal (and that is the genius of Gaiman).
The only thing better than reading this novel yourself, is having Neil Gaiman read it to you. He embodies all of the characters, uses the perfect voice(s), cadence, accents and more. It might be because he wrote the novel and knows its characters better than any person possible, but really, I think Gaiman reading anything, even a phonebook, would be enjoyable. If you had to choose just one book to listen to, let it be this one. Listening to Gaiman scream help in Night-Gaunt, a tortured beast language, is worth it alone.
Awards:
- Newbury Medal 2009 winner
- Hugo 2009 Best Science Fiction novel
- Boston Glob Horn Book Award – finalist 2009 Fiction and Poetry, Honor
- Newbury Medal 2008 – Children’s Literature
- Carnegie Medal 2010
- Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book
- Cooperative Children's Book Center Choice
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (Vermont)
- Horn Book Fanfare
- Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book
- New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
- New York Public Library Stuff for the Teen Age
- Time Magazine Top Ten Fiction
Audiobook of the Year
- Alaska - Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- Arizona - Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominees 2011: Tween Books - Audiovisual List
- Arkansas - Arkansas Teen Book Award Nominees 2010: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- Arkansas - Arkansas Teen Book Award Winners 2010: Grades 7-9
- Delaware - Diamonds Book Award Nominees 2009-2010: High School - Audiovisual List
- Hawaii - Hawaii Nene Award Reading List Nominees 2012 - Audiovisual List
- Idaho - Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- Literary Prizes - School Library Journal starred
- Montana - Pacific Northwest Iowa - Iowa High School Battle of the Books List 2010-2011 - Audiovisual List
- Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- New Jersey - New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award Nominees 2011: Fiction Gr.6-8 - Audiovisual List
- Oklahoma - Oklahoma Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award Nominees - 2011 - Audisvisual List
- Oregon - Oregon Readers Choice Book Award Nominees 2011: Intermediate Division - Audiovisual List
- Oregon - Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- Pennsylvania - Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Nominees 2011-2012: Grades 6-8 - Audiovisual List
- Washington - Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award 2011: Grades 7-9 - Audiovisual List
- Washington - Washington Evergreen Young Adult Book Award Nominees 2011 - Audiovisual List
- Wisconsin - Golden Archer Award Nominees 2009-2010: Middle School/Junior High - Audiovisual List
- Wisconsin - Wisconsin Battle of the Books 2009-2010: Middle Div. Gr.6-8 - Audiovisual List
- Wisconsin - Wisconsin Battle of the Books 2009-2010: Senior Division - Audiovisual List
Reviews:
AUDIO FILE MAGAZINE: “Neil Gaiman is one of the true gems in the audio industry… gives each specter a different—and wholly appropriate—voice, but he doesn't stop there. He even goes so far as to change a character's accent ever so slightly after she comes back from years and years abroad… performs a shift of character voice that is an absolute showstopper when he reveals the villain”
THE NEW YORK TIMES: “The Graveyard Book”, by turns exciting and witty, sinister and tender, shows Gaiman at the top of his form.”
THE INDEPENDENT: “Neil Gaiman's slightly spooky voice is perfect for reading his slightly spooky story"
KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Wistful, witty, wise—and creepy. Gaiman’s riff on Kipling’s Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family’s murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending…Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod’s innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child.”
Note: You miss out on the terrific illustrations if you listen to the audiobook, so if you find yourself near a book store, look through a physical copy. Dave McKean did a fantastic job.
Connections:
The rights to The Graveyard Book were purchased, and it should be a major motion picture directed by Ron Howard.
Gaiman, Neil. CORALINE. ISBN-10: 0380807343
Coraline was turned into a film, directed by Henry Selick.